Do not hesitate to leap!
by teviko
Summary: Meredith is breaking the backs of the Kirkwallers.  Khari Hawke needs advice on what to do.


_Editors notes: This is a one shot, short stand alone, slightly AU, but a more accurate reflection of DA:O/A and DA2 lore. The big thing about the DA2 Lore was that the DEV's of DA2 didn't really sit down and think about the timeline very well. It took 1 year for your PC Warden to defeat the Blight, and if you've played Awakenings, the events there took 6 months after the blight to happen (you can either assume you went right away and it took 6 months to complete, with enough time for you to go home and get married, -OR- six months, right after your marriage, you went to Amaranthine and dealt with the events therein. I chose you went to Vigil's Keep right away, to give Anders a *little* time to flee to Kirkwall) (I also went Cousland-Queen romanced Alistair)_

_In either event, that would have left NO WAY for you to meet Anders given the time line. This disappointed me, but I found a rather easy and convenient solution. Upon arrival to Kirkwall, Gamlen could only afford to raise the coin to get PC Hawke (my little rogue) Bethany , Leandra and Aveline by selling them into indentured servitude for __two years__! One year with the smuggles and the second with the Red Iron. Aveline was set up with the Guards so that the Red Iron would have an 'insider' who could deflect any Guard intervention on their behalf. (It obviously didn't turn out so well for them, but explains why Aveline always had an 'eye on Hawke')_

_Two years would give Anders plenty of time to beat feet out of Amaranthine with Justice (whom I left in the Vigil to defend, since knowing that if he was left there, he'd be beheaded *sad face* 3 you Justice but I had to do it to make *my* world make sense). _

_So, the Deep Roads expedition happened two years after Hawke came to Kirkwall, not one, and the downtime between Act 1 and Act 2 was two years, not three. The rest of the story is mostly canon. _

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Khari left the Chantry in a huff, her mood even more fickle than when she went in. She had tried to discern where the Revered Mother stood on the issue of the Templars in Kirkwall, or the fact that her _charges_ were being abused. She refused to acknowledge either accusation or implied allegiance.

_Both sides have faults, my Dear. You must let Orsino and Meredith work things out._

Khari growled. Meredith had been choking the city with her refusal to let anyone take the position of Viscount and how she was handling the mages. More and more mages were escaping the Gallows by the droves, and more and more were arrested, returned and hanged, or possibly, made tranquil. Khari had to quite carefully engineer a few deaths on behalf of these 'Tranquiled' mages as to not reveal where or _who_ had been helping the Mages escape.

As for the lack of Viscount, Meredith had *assumed* the role in all but title, trying to wrestle control of the Guards from Aveline and trying to bully the Aristocrats into subservience so that no one would challenge her authority. The Revered Mother had deftly avoided that accusation, saying that Meredith was a 'girl good' who just had the best interests of the city at heart. Khari had aptly pointed out that the Chantry, and thus Templars should have no influence over political struggles in the city, _any_ city for that matter. The Revered Mother simply shook her head.

_We live in strange times. Things will sort themselves out. You'll see._

Things needed to change. Fortunately for Khari, she'd already made that assumption long before she sought the Mother's advice. Thankfully, she'd met a wonderful elf named Zevran recently, who had once been a part of the infamous Antivan Crows. 'Tricked' into hunting him down to kill him by members of his previous order, Khari had spared the elf and brought death to his former comrades, earning the gratitude of the ex-Crow.

Gratitude she had been cashing in on, generously.

The elf was deplorable for all his unsubtle nuances he dropped at every turn, which generally resulted in Khari rushing into the arms of Anders on more than frequent basis. She suspected that was his intent, as he was acutely aware of her and the mages dalliances. Aside from the innuendos and sometimes whispered word of 'encouragement' in her ear, Zevran never pushed his boundaries past the 'just friends, hands off' envelope.

Khari let herself inside her Hightown mansion to be greeted by Bodahn who quickly pronounced that all was quiet and well in the house. As usual, he drolled on about the day expected of her, which official wanted to meet her, and where and when. Appointments she rarely kept. He kept her appraised of her finances, all of her investments, including the Bone Pit, the accursed mine that had some sort of crisis every few years or so. Superstition aside, she believed very much the place was cursed. Bodahn rambled on as always as Khari sifted through the mail to see if anything was worth her attention at the moment or not. It was nothing but invitations to the latest party, or dinner, or some fancy affair she had no intention of ever attending. She did once, at her Mother's behest, and was utterly bored out of her mind. Everyone there was so vapid and useless, it was a wonder Khari hadn't slaughtered the whole of the noble Caste just to 'liven' the event up.

"Master Zevran is also here." Bodahn finished his customary speech.

"Thank you, Bodahn," Khari said, putting the stack of mail down. The elf was exactly the man she wanted to see.

Khari sprinted up the stairs, two at a time, and headed to her room where she knew the elf would be waiting. She briefly wondered what game he would play today. Jump out from behind the door and stick a dagger to her neck, hide in the closet and pounce her when she went to get changed, or set a trap in front of her door to see if she would step on it. All his 'games' (designed at teaching her) had been unsuccessful so far, but it didn't stop him from honing his skills, as well as hers, at every turn.

Khari paused before her door and inspected the gap between the portals, and the slight crack under for any signs of traps. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the door, suspecting a contact poison on the handle. It came away clean, and there were contraptions caught in between the doors ready to fire off any traps. Cautiously, she opened the door, ready to spring away should there be any traps. Only good fortune had allowed her to avoid the one trap Zevran had placed in her room, her battle trained reflexes had taken over and she avoided the particulate dust that rained down in front of her doors. Had she been caught in the particulates embrace, she'd have been rendered unconscious, but unharmed. Zevran wasn't out to kill her, merely make her aware.

She was a 'noble' of sorts in the city, subject to assassinations just like anyone else. Kirkwall had more of the gruff, mercenary paid-to-kill contracts, but there were assassinations at times. Khari was a much a target as anyone else, having become a thorn in Meredith's side. Having once been a Red Iron, Khari had employed Meeran on several occasions to keep aware of any contracts on her. Since she had served, she was also exempt from being targeted by them, as they 'took care of their own'. Still, she wasn't naive to think that he would honor that if a large enough bounty came his way. So she had taken the initiative and had employed them for various other tasks. As long as money flowed between them, they would not turn on her.

That had been Zevran's idea.

Khari sighed and straightened, bracing herself for an ambush as she slowly entered the room. What she was not, expecting, however, was to see the elf lounging on her bed, nude, posing himself so that she would see him in all his splendor. Minus the 'naughty' bits in which he had generously covered up with her silk sheets. Khari froze at the doors.

"Ah, my beautiful Champion, I was wondering when you were coming. It has been getting lonely in here. I was longing to bath my eyes in your nubile form." Zevran said, propped up on one elbow, watching her reactions with humor glinting in his eyes.

"Did Orana let you in?" Khari said, feeling her cheeks flush, at having the handsome elf fully nude, in her bed no less. She had half a mind to run to Darktown and pull Anders away from his clinic.

"Oh yes," Zevran purred. "Many times. She is quite the sweet thing."

Khari closed her eyes and grimaced. She certainly hoped Orana didn't 'let him in' on her bed.

She decided to let his infraction of being totally nude not bother her, or try to show it at least. "I'm glad your here Zevran. " She admitted, closing the door behind her and going over to the bed.

"Oh?" He asked, as she settled down on the edge of the bed and began removing her boots. Zevran sidled up behind her, placing his bronze skinned hands on her shoulders and began rubbing. If not Orana, he could always track down Isabela to ply his craft upon, as Khari had labeled herself as 'hands off'. But he still sought any chance to put his hands on her, even if just to rub and relax her tense shoulders.

Khari leaned into Zevran's manipulations, still working to remove her boots. "Things are getting worse, and I think." Khari inhaled deeply. "I think the Champion is going to have to force a more permanent solution to the vacant Viscount position, not to mention the mage situation."

Zevran growled, understanding her line of thinking. For all her rules, Khari did seem to have a 'hands on' approach when dealing with the problems in the city. "Ah yes, Meredith. She is squeezing the city so tight that even my genitalia are beginning to hurt."

Khari snorted. That picture was oddly accurate. "Yes, I would like to..remove her vice-like hold, as it were."

"Would you like to put yours there instead?" Zevran gruffed huskily in her ear. Khari spun and cuffed him on the arm. He grinned at her in amusement.

"You're horrible."

"I've had no complaints so far from your man." Zevran whispered, resuming his work on Khari's shoulders. "You know, some time, we should include him on our little sessions. I think its a terrible shame that he doesn't get to enjoy our time together."

Khari laughed. "If Anders found out we were killing The Brands he'd be furious, or Justice would be. It's better the Templars can't trace his mage underground back to him than it is to allow these men and women to suffer at their hands, or to have Anders get arrested and dragged off to the Gallows. No, he doesn't need to be included."

Zevran shook his head and patted Khari on the back to let her know he was done. Unabashedly, he rolled out of bed and began getting dressed.

"So, the Champion wants a hands on approach to the Knight-Commander? " Zevran asked. He had been instruction Khari for several months now on the finer points of being an assassin. She was a quick study, a rather apt pupil, and would have made an excellent Crow had fortunes been different. She was unafraid of killing who or what needed to be killed, or agrieved in some sort of guilt over a death or two.

"Yes, I need advice on what to do." Simply driving a dagger into that bitches face sadly wouldn't have the effect she wanted.

Zevran tried to hide his smile. He had considered his student a 'graduate' and thus had offered her a peace treaty of sorts by posing naked in her bed. There would be no traps, or poisons or ambushes, or hidden clues posted around her room on where to locate him. She had become extremely observant, and had spared her any more trials. But now, her true test was at hand, and he couldn't be anymore proud. She wasn't asking _him_ to do the job, she wanted to do it herself, but she was unsure of where to begin.

"Well, now. Just exactly what do you wanna do with the Knight-Commander? Seems how you wish her to die will offer you the asnwer, won't it?" Zevran said, sheathing his daggers into his vest.

"I'm not sure simply eliminating her will resolve the greater issue. They are too many of her Templars that are fanatical about her line of thinking that if I simply kill her and get rid of her, that any one of them will step up and continue in her footsteps. I need a way that eliminates her and cripples the power of the Templars in the city. Even Cullen has been pestering the city Guard and Aveline is furious! But even she can't strong arm the Templars for much longer. If she caves, then the whole city will be under Meredith's thumb. This is out of hand."

Zevran sat down next Khari. "I see your dliema. It seems that you have quite the task ahead of you, yes? If you simply kill her and make it look like an accident, then a new Meredith clones simply slides into power. If you kill her outright, then the same happens again." Zevran said, repeating, in short what she had already said.

"What if Orsino were to kill her? Or made to look like he killed her?"

Khari thought on it.

"Aside from being hanged, nothing else, except maybe the fate of the Mages would get worse in addition to the Templars becoming even more zealous. No. I need something...big."

"I do not think this will be resolved right away, no? Perhaps I shall return and offer some more information. But I cannot stay long, I fear I am being called away for...other needs." Zevran said. He could not tell Khari that his beloved Warden-Commander had requested his aid. More so than Khari, he owed the Commander a great debt he could never fully repay.

"Thanks Zevran. Anything you can offer will be of great help."

Zevran paused, an idea springing into his head. It was rarely a plan an assassin would employ, since being an assassin desired a more personal touch. However, an assassin could take advantage of any situation.

"What do the locals think about Meredith?" Zevran asked. There was something to be said about public opinion.

"They think she's bat-shit crazy. But they fear her, and side from a few vocal nobles, she's all but killed many of them into silence." Khari said bitterly, having thwarted an ambush on Meredith opposers. But Khari was liking Zevran's line of thinking. She had the support of the Guards, and the people and the mages...even the nobles were begining to turn against Meredith. A rebellion could be the perfect thing to crush the Templars, as long as Meredith didn't look like a martyr for it.

"Ah, but how easily the common people can be persuaded." Zevran said, seeing she had followed his subtle lines of manipulation. She was a very clever woman, the Champion. He had no doubt she'd have seen this course of action sooner or later, but sooner would spur her into motion. He also had no doubts of her ability to pull off a full scale rebellion. When he had remarked in his letters to the Warden-Commander of the woman's coniving mind, he wasn't being overly generous. In fact, putting pen to paper of this woman's sharp mind fell very short of her true ingenuity.

"The people are scared. She uses the mages as a tool to keep them cowed. And it's not helping that more and more mages are turning to blood magic and running rampant." Khari said, knowing that the people were _rightfully_ scared into submission. They were afraid to lose the Templars only to be overrun by demon-possesed mages. And it didn't help that Meredith was driving the mages into arms of demons to validify her and her Templars hold over the city.

However, Cullen had told her that the symbol of the oppressed slave was a powerful one. The people of the city bore no love of the Templar, and were as likely to shut the door in their faces as they were to offer a place to rest. Could she truly use the plight of the mages to push the city into the arms of a rebellion?

_The world stands on the precipe of change. They fear that inevitable plunge into the Abyss. Look for that moment, and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. For it is only when we fall, we learn whether we can fly!_

Khari swallowed at how eeriely accurate those words were becoming. And how, she of all people, saw no way to spread her wings and fly.

"Do you know what happens when you corner an Antivan wildcat into a corner?" Zevran said, rousing Khari from her musings.

"Yes, the most dangerous place to be is between you and its freedom." Khari said.

Zevran planted a kiss on Khari's forehead. "All too true, my dear. " He sighed, knowing this would be the last time he'd be in such fine company until he was at last with his dear Commander. Well, not counting Isabela. He would most certainly be in fine company when he went to say goodbye. Properly. "I would hate to be the Knight-Commander if she ever backed you into a corner, my dear Champion."

"I will miss you, Zev." Khari said, knowing that he was leaving. She'd known for some time, but they had carefully avoided that topic.

Zevran slipped and arm around Khari and hugged her, one she returned in earnest. For all his teasing and playful approaches, he was genuinely fond of this woman as an equal. If she had not been so dearly attached to her mage, he was more than confident he'd have taught her another tool that she could employ in her assassinly arsenal. However, she was derelictly in love with him and denounced ever using her body in such a way. He sighed to that unfortunate set of lessons he could not teach her. But he respected her too much to push it. Just like the Warden-Commander, he would never push that boundary unless _they_ would consent to it. Anders was a fine looking man, and Zevran had made no small fact at expressing his intrest in both Khari and her mage, or the both of them together.

Zevran shifted uncomfortably as he felt the point of a blade caress his neck. He smiled at how easily she had slipped it there. "You give her a 'good' goodbye." Khari said, knowing just where his next stop would be. "If I hear even the slightest complaint, I will come after you myself."

Zevran laughed. Just like his beloved Warden, Khari was fierecely loyal to her friends. "If I so much as insult the dear Pirate Captain, you are most welcome to hunt me down and do with me as you please."

Zevran released Khari and she withdrew her blade, sheathing it back on her hip. It was one of many daggers she concealed or openly carried on her body. Like him. Zevran stood up and bowed to Khari, deftly lifting her hand to his lips, brushing them against her knuckles.

"Buona fortuna," he said endearingly, letting her hand go, striding out the door. Khari smiled behind him. She _was_ going to miss him. He had been a complimentary teacher, as well as a fun friend to have around.


End file.
